Kiss of Life
by Sleepless Dream
Summary: Sakura always thought that the Akatsuki were evil but when she meets Itachi face to face, she soon discovers that appearances can be decieving. How will she cope with her mortal enemies now and are they enemies after all? itasaku


a/n: thanks for choosing to read my story. Please drop me a review and let me know what you think about it. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I'm not making any money from this….yet again!! :(

Kiss of Life

By Sleepless Dream

Sakura could have kicked herself, feeling how stupid she had been. She should have known better. All that training, all that experience, for nothing. She looked up to see the sunlight glimmer through the treetops. The bamboo trees surrounded her, suffocating her. There looked to be no way out.

The small glimmer of sun was the only light she had and the only way she could tell that the outside world really existed. It had only been an hour since it happened but it felt like an eternity. Sitting there still and alone, one hour felt like several weeks.

It had all been so silly really, she thought to herself. She had been on a simple training exercise, completely routine, one she had done countless times before without a problem. Naruto was there along with Lee and Gai. Naruto and Sakura often did training on our own without any guidance but with Gai there too there should have been no problems.

It all started when Naruto started making fun of her. She didn't know why he decided to be so mean to her, he was never usually. He kept going on about how slow she was and how she was always lagging behind. She was really mad and raced to catch up.

There was a large bamboo forest on the outskirts of Konoha village. It was a sacred place with many shrines but recently there had been a lot of Akatsuki activity going on inside the forest. They weren't afraid and it didn't seem to be dangerous.

Somewhere deep in the forest Sakura lost track of the others. She called out to them but got nothing in reply. Sakura jumped between the trees but the forest was so large and everything looked the same that they could be just a few metres away and she'd never spot them.

Sakura perched herself up on one of the branches trying to scout the area. Suddenly, she heard a crack. She wondered what it was for a moment but when she finally found out she didn't have long to think about it. It was the branch she was sitting on. It snapped under her weight and Sakura plummeted to the ground.

She hit the ground hard and was completely knocked out for a few minutes. When she came to, she tried to stand up, but she couldn't. She looked at her ankle, it was swollen, obviously sprained. This just wasn't going to be her day.

It got even worse after that. It had been an hour of Sakura constantly calling for help, but getting nothing in return, when it started to rain. Not just a light shower though, it poured down like never before.

Sakura got drenched in seconds. Her red vest clung to her skin and her pink hair turned dark as she desperately tried to crawl for some sort of cover, any kind of cover. Sakura hoped that Naruto would find her soon and didn't think the situation could possibly get any worse.

That was when she heard footsteps approaching. Thinking it might be Naruto she looked up, a gleam in her eye but that gleam soon disappeared when she saw who it actually was. It was Itachi, Sasuke's murderous brother, an evil member of the Akatsuki.

He stood there, tall and well-built, dressed in his Akatsuki robe with short black hair and a devious smile. He was holding an umbrella in his hand to shield himself from the rain. Sakura tried to edge backwards but soon she was up against a tree with nowhere to go. She grimaced in pain.

"Well, well, well, lookie what we have here." Itachi said.

"Get the hell away from me Itachi, I'm warning you!"

Itachi laughed. "What could you possibly do to me, little girl?"

"You just wait and see. I'm tougher than I look."

"To that I have no doubt."

Sakura tried to stand up again, but just like the last time she fell back to the ground. Itachi noticed that she was soaking wet and shivering from the cold. His attention was drawn to her ankle. It was all swollen and her offered to take off her boot.

"Don't you dare touch me, you freak!"

"Please, you're hurt, I can't leave you like this."

"I'd rather die than be helped by you."

She continued to try and edge back even though there was clearly nowhere to go. Itachi gently touched her ankle and Sakura winced in pain. His expression became more seriousness.

"I'm going to have to get this checked out," he said. "I don't think I could live with myself if I left you here to die."

Sakura didn't know what to think, her head was spinning. Why was Itachi helping her and being so nice? Did he have something up his sleeve?

He leant over to her.

"Here hold this," he said.

Itachi handed Sakura his umbrella. He then reached down, putting a one hand behind Sakura's back and another underneath her knees and scooped her up in his arms, bridal style.

Sakura couldn't believe what was happening. She immediately started thrashing about, kicking her legs and pounding on his chest as hard as she could. But it had no effect. Itachi simply shook his head. She felt so light and easy for him to carry, no effort at all. Sakura didn't stand a chance.

"Please, Sakura, it's impossible for you to escape from my arms. Just relax and enjoy the ride."

That didn't stop Sakura from struggling though but it was all in vain, Itachi was simply too strong for her. Itachi was starting to get a little annoyed now too.

"Stop struggling Sakura or I will drag you. Which would you prefer: to be carried or to be dragged?"

Sakura fell silent. She didn't know how to answer that question. She didn't want either but she she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit appreciative for Itachi carrying her with her hurt ankle.

"Now stop wasting your time and energy hitting me and use that umbrella I gave you."

Sakura reluctantly agreed and held the umbrella above their heads to protect them both from the rain as Itachi carried Sakura.

"What are you going to do with me? Where are you taking me?" Sakura asked nervously. She had resigned herself to being helpless. She knew there was no way she could ever win a fight against him even if she was 100 percent healthy.

"I'm just going to take you home to get you fixed up. You're free after that, don't worry."

Sakura wanted to believe him but deep down she knew what Itachi was like and knew that she couldn't trust him. All she could hope was that someone would find her and save her.

Itachi could feel Sakura shiver as she snuggled up against him. He smiled to himself.

It was so humiliating, being carried in Itachi's arms. Sakura was angry she hadn't put up more of a fight. How could I have been defeated this easily? She thought. Despite the pain and embarrassment, she felt comfort. Warm and secure in his strong arms, she felt like she was a little girl again. With that thought she rested her head on Itachi's broad shoulder and fell asleep.

When she woke up, she was still being carried. Itachi must have been holding her now for hours. It was pitch black. He didn't seem tired or anything, not even out of breath. They were out of the forest now making their way down a stony mountain path.

It had stopped raining which was just as well since Sakura dropped the umbrella whilst she was asleep.

"Where are we?" Sakura asked.

"Home." Itachi replied.

There was a small cave dug out of the mountain face. Itachi carried Sakura inside like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold to their new home. It was so dark inside. There were just a few small lanterns on the walls. They led down a long corridor and Itachi followed with Sakura.

Sakura became more and more nervous the deeper they got into the cave. She could sense something sinister was going to happen. She started struggling again, flailing her legs, trying to make it as difficult as possible for Itachi.

She pounded on his chest and tried pulling his hair and gouging his eyes. It made Itachi a little unsteady but they were already inside his home as Itachi carried her through another doorway to what looked like a huge lounge area.

It was all nicely decorated. Not at all how Sakura expected an Akatsuki to live. There was a big red sofa in the middle of the room and Itachi dumped Sakura down on it and shook his arms.

Sakura immediately got up and tried to run for the door but seemed to forget about her sprained ankle. Her legs crumpled beneath her but she still tried to limp nearer the door. Itachi caught up with her and grabbed her.

Sakura struggled furiously, fighting with everything she had to escape.

"Let go of me, you pervert!"

Sakura was convinced she was going to get raped and she couldn't let that happen. She had to fight. Itachi overpowered her easily though and encircled her in his arms to prevent her moving.

"Be quiet, Sakura. Stop trying to fight me."

"You bastard."

She was crying into his chest and her punches became weak until they finally stopped. Itachi looked at her and saw that she had fainted.

Stupid girl, he thought.

He picked her back up and carried her to the sofa. He gently set her down and studied her. Her clothes were soaking wet from the rain. He knew she would probably catch hypothermia.

Sakura looked so pretty in sleep. So helpless, so soft, so delicate as Itachi gently stroked her face. Thoughts circled in his mind. He could have his way with this girl, but something in his heart told him he shouldn't do it. It was strange. He never usually listened to his conscience.

He ran his hands through her soft pink hair and watched her steady breathing as she slept, so peaceful, so beautiful.

He still had to get her out of her wet clothes though. Itachi didn't know why he was nervous, but he felt just a little trepidation as he unzipped Sakura's red vest baring her breasts. He slid her skirt down her past her curvaceous thighs and off. Itachi fought to contain himself and quickly turned away to find Sakura one of his robes to wear.

There was nothing even close to her size. Itachi was almost twice as big as she was so it was going to be a bit difficult.

Eventually Itachi found an old blue shirt. It was still too big, but Sakura could wear it like a dress. Itachi dried Sakura with a towel before putting it on. The shirt came down to half way down her thighs whilst the arms were just past her elbows. Not as bad as he thought. Even in an old crappy shirt, she still looked good, he thought.

Now all he had to do was look at her ankle. He gently took both her boots off and set them on the floor. He inspected her ankle. It was swollen pretty badly. It was even worse than before. He lifted her leg up and put it on the armrest, then he got some ice from the freezer and put it on her ankle. Itachi wrapped some bandage around it as well to try and keep the swelling down.

Itachi went to the kitchen and put the kettle on and waited for Sakura to wake up.

A few minutes later, Sakura's eyelids fluttered open and she looked around the room. Her ankle felt numb now but the sudden shock of the freezing cold ice hit her and she screamed.

She then looked round the room and got a better view of the lounge. Everything seemed very new and expensive. Lovely ornaments and rugs, table with beautiful carvings. This couldn't have been the home of an Akatsuki member, surely.

Itachi came from out of the kitchen.

"How are you feeling, Sakura? Is your ankle feeling better?"

Sakura was still scared but was even more scared by the way Itachi was being so nice. He was holding a cup of tea in his hand and he offered it to Sakura. She took it and sipped it slowly.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure."

Sakura felt more grateful now. She couldn't feel the pain in her ankle and the warmth of the tea ran through her and made her feel good. She needed it. She relaxed back into the sofa as Itachi came nearer.

It then suddenly dawned on Sakura that she was wearing different clothes. She put the cup down and gasped. She couldn't believe it. Itachi must have done it whilst she was asleep. He must have seen her naked. She cringed with embarrassment but also fear and confusion.

"Sorry about that." Itachi said. "I had to change your clothes or you would have caught a really bad cold."

Sakura was still sure he was going to rape her but he hadn't. He had cared for her and taken off her wet things. This wasn't the Itachi that she knew.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"I don't want anything. I think you've got a rather misguided opinion of me and my fellow Akatsuki members. We're not really the bad people you make us out to be. You should give us a chance, show us some trust."

"How could I ever trust you?"

"I saved you, didn't I? Most men would have had there way with you seeing you there so vulnerable and helpless but I'm different. I'm not like that."

Sakura didn't know what to think anymore. All her things that she thought and believed had been turned upside down. But he was right, he was different. Itachi reached down and gave her cup of tea back to her. She smiled and continued drinking, never taking her eyes off Itachi. He seemed so gentle and kind, in a way she had never seen before.

Sakura got a funny feeling deep down inside her heart but closed her eyes and tried to force it out. Itachi just stared her, chuckling. He knew what she felt and he could feel it too.

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a/n: thanks so much for reading the first chapter. i'm sure they'll be lots more. but please review and tell me what you think, i'd love to know whether it's good or bad or anything i could improve on. thanks again. xxx


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